John Bowker was sent off at the airport by his girlfriend on Monday (she is reportedly a Japanese-American model). Before leaving, Bowker said to reporters, "Being able to play for Yomiuri next year would be the best for me."

Yoshiyuki Ishihara met with team officials at Mazda Stadium on Tuesday and once again held off on making a final decision. This was his second meeting with the team. Ishihara told reporters it was not a money issue and that he just needed more time to think.

The Tigers are interested in Chunichi's Kenichi Nakata and Nippon Ham's Shinya Tsuruoka. They are particularly interested in Nakata because they are looking for arms for the starting rotation and because he is a level C free agent (no compensation).

According to Daily Sports, discussions between the Tigers and the Washington Nationals for Mauro Gomez are going well. Assuming no bumps in negotiations, an announcement could be made some time later this month.

The Tigers are interested in Munenori Kawasaki, regardless of whether or not Takashi Toritani stays with the team. The organization likes Kawasaki because he can play multiple infield positions and is a solid runner on the base paths.

Yuya Ando has spoken to the front office once. He is scheduled to meet with them again some time this week. He told reporters that all he did was listen during his first meeting with the team and that he planned to discuss things during his second meeting.